Saturday, May 17, 2008

And now, back to our regularly colored jerseys

Liquigas riders Franco Pellizotti and Daniele Bennati are both now green with envy of Giovanni Visconti and Ricardo Riccò as this week they were forced out of their pink and ciclamino jerseys and back into their Liquigas jerseys. With Monday's rest day and Tuesday's time trial, things will have to go perfectly for Pelli to regain the maglia rosa. Benna may have a chance to regain the points jersey in today's sprint finish in San Vincenzo but will have to beat Mark Cavendish or Erik Zabel in order to do so.

Of course, I can't forget to mention the chances of Vincenzo Nibali as well. Known as the Shark of the Strait (he comes from the Strait of Messina), Nibali is placed 10th overall and 4th among the main favorites, right behind Pelli. He has raced quietly this first week while limiting any losses. On paper, he has a better TT than Pelli, so who knows... I had the chance to pass out our cool t-shirts to Niba's fan club in Milazzo after stage three. They were out in force and all were worried about the late spill he had just before the finish. A hard chase got him back to the group in under 1 km!